We never thought we would hear from them again…

Map of McClain County Oklahoma

now did we? And we did not hear from them, but some of their relatives have provided enough information to fill in the blanks.

William Deaton Jackson Murray and Susan Anna Isbell Murray’s son William Jackson Murray just seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. When that son and his wife left the area, he said he would never be back and I guess he never did return. William Jackson Murray married Lelia Florence Jeffries in Colbert County, Alabama on 27 March 1892 when she was eighteen years old. She was born 14 March 1867 in Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama and died 15 January 1967 in Wayne, McClain County, Oklahoma. She is the daughter of Andrew Jackson “Jack” Jeffreys 1848 – 1908 and Mary Susannah “Susan” Downs 1850 – 1910. Her parents also moved to Oklahoma and there they died. Lelia Jeffries was one of almost a dozen Jeffries children.

A note of interest on Jack and Susan Jeffries, he was born in Marion County, Alabama; she was born in Mississippi but her parents moved to Alabama when she was very young. They lived in Lawrence County, Alabama for a number of years. But on the 1900 census they were listed as living at Township 2, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. Andrew Jackson Jeffreys died 29 September 1908 and is buried in Foster Cemetery at Foster, Garvin County, Oklahoma. By 1910 the remaining family members were in Doughtery, Murray County, Oklahomawhere Susan Downs Jeffries died. She was the head of the household and her daughter Methel Jeffries was living with her. She was 59 years old, was widowed, and had nine living children of eleven children born to her. She died a little over three months after the 1910 census had been enumerated.

It is uncertain when the William Jackson Murray family left for the west. No record of them could be on the 1900 census. But by 1910 they were in McClain County in Oklahoma. And there they remained until death. There was some disagreement between William Jackson Murray and his family; it seems that maybe they had said they would go west with them and then changed their minds. The parents never heard from him as long as they lived.

One response

Pamela (Murray/Rodke/Garrett) Filipelli

I am one of Lelia’s great-grand daughters, Pamela. I live in Ada, OK, just about 40 min drive from Hopping Cemetery, just east of Wayne, OK, where many Murrays are buried including Lelia and Wm Jackson Murray. Most of that cemetery’s inhabitants are Murrays and Sharps (also relatives.) The community of Hopping does not exist anymore. My mother, Pauline is in your posted pic. She’s the young woman on the right in the suit. Pauline is still living (as of this writing on 5/27/2014.) I barely remember Grandma Lelia. We have home movies of me sitting on her lap at Grandma Hazel’s house. She died when I was 5, I think. Went to Alabama with Mom and her cousin Jerrel Murray & his wife JonEvah several years ago and met many decendants of Wm Jackson Murray’s family and Jeffries sisters’ family at a family reunion. Loads of folks were there. It was very interesting.